Zionsville software firm planning new office, 190 hires

Dec07, 2016

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Zionsville-based Clear Software LLC is planning a major expansion that could transform it from a small startup into large tech firm with almost 200 workers.

According to an incentives contract recently signed with the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Clear Software plans to spend about $700,000 to open a new headquarters in downtown Zionsville, where it will hire up to 190 employees by the end of 2019.

CEO Jon Gilman said the company and the IEDC are planning to officially announce the deal later this week.

Clear Software currently operates out of the zWorks co-working space at 85 E. Cedar St., where it has about a dozen employees.

The 4-year-old company specializes in making existing software products more user-friendly. It takes enterprise software applications used at large organizations, such as SAP and Salesforce, and enhances the user experience through its Web-based platform.

The firm’s flagship product, ClearUI, is an intuitive web application that simplifies business processes.

The tax incentive contract, which was finalized Sept. 28, was actually initiated in April, when the company had less than a handful of employees. The deal calls for Clear Software to have at least 193 employees by 2019 to receive all the incentives.

The IEDC is offering the firm up to $2.5 million in conditional tax credits and as much as $100,000 in training grants if it meets the hiring goals.

Clear Software was founded in Chicago in October 2012, but Gilman moved it to Zionsville in April 2014, partly for family reasons.

It was initially funded with investments from family and friends, but landed about $1 million in venture capital in 2015. “Follow-on” fundraising since raised its total venture capital haul to about $1.9 million.